💡 About Course Discussions

Discussion allows your instructor to create a discussion post for you to reply to. Often, you are asked to answer the discussion and then reply to another class member’s discussion post. You will also discover how to manage the course discussions in the Discussion Index if your instructor has made the Discussion Index visible to you.

What you might see and/or do in Course Discussions:

View a discussion and its settings
Use the Discussions tools
Reply to a discussion post or thread
Add an image or file to a discussion post
Manage Discussions in the Discussion Index

Where can I find the discussion in my course?

There are several areas where you can open a discussion. The most common locations to view a discussion are from the course Modules or the Calendar.

Other locations may include:

Course Home Page To-Do List
Dashboard To-Do List
If unhidden, you can view the discussion index in the Course Navigation

Remember that discussions can be graded with a point grade or complete/incomplete. Discussions are a popular approach that helps to engage students by requiring participation. For some online classes, weekly discussions are how instructors take attendance.

Viewing the Discussions Settings:

Example of a discussion with the settings numbered.

Discussion Name
Mark as Read
Numbers of Unread and Replies
Instructions or Directions of what should be accomplished
Search for entries or authors of discussion
Mark as Unread
Collapse and Expend Replies
Subscribe button: This button allows you to be notified when someone replies to the discussion.

Arrow indicates the Course Navigation Bar that could hold the Discussion link. By default, CCC has chosen to have the Discussion link hidden but your instructor can unhide the link and you will see it in this sidebar.

Replying to a Discussion:

Information on how to reply to a discussion

Reply to a Discussion click on the ⤺ Reply box. This opens the textbox area where you can type your reply.
Editing menu
Font, Bold, Link, Image, etc. that will help format your reply, if desired.
Text Box area to type your reply
Attach area will allow you to attach files.
Keyboard Shortcuts, Accessibility, Number of Words, HTML code page, Full Screen, and Resize the text area
Cancel or Post Reply

🚩 Helpful Hints:

A post discussion before seeing replies have been restricted by instructors. This type of discussion allows each student to post their perspectives before viewing other students' postings. After the initial posting, students can view and respond to others' postings. This feature allows equal initial posting opportunities among all students, thus encouraging original and independent thinking.

If you are typing in a long text entry discussion post and if your instructor allows it, type it in a word document or notepad and save your changes periodically. Then, copy that text and paste it into the submission text box in Canvas. This will ensure that you don't lose your work due to a network connectivity issue.

Due Dates, Points, and Marked Done for Discussions:

Discussions may have a due date when the discussion must be completed. It shows the due date directly below the Name of the Discussion. What a discussion looks like in a module. The points that can be earned (if the discussion is graded). A light gray circle to the far right will indicate a green check mark when the discussion is completed on time. If you see the red circle with the line indicating the discussion is late. (as in the image to the left)

Shows the point for a discussion, the Mark All as Read; and Show Rubric

Graded Discussions:

Discussions may be graded or ungraded. If the discussion that you open is graded, an alert is placed at the top of the discussion.

Discussion Rubrics:

The top right corner has a more options button. Select the button to see if your instructor has attached a Discussions Board Rubric, which outlines the expectations your instructor has for you.

Marking Discussions Read:

As you read the posts and replies from others in the discussion, a dot next to each post turns solid. Canvas automatically marks the posts as "Read" if you spend enough time viewing the post. You may also select the circle on the left of the post to mark the individual post as read, or select the 'more options button in the Discussion index at the top and choose manually "Mark as Read," so Canvas does not auto-mark the discussion as read.